Argentina Fires an Antisemitic Judge

Argentina fired a federal judge for calling Jews "a brood of vipers" and Israel a "fictitious state." Alfredo Lopez, who headed a federal court in Mar del Plata, lost his post Tuesday when Argentina's Jury of Impeachment ruled against him. It's the first time an Argentine judge has been removed over antisemitic remarks. ¹

Britain is threatening sanctions over 1,234 new West Bank settler homes. Israel's Land Authority put the E1-area units, near Ma'ale Adumim, up for bid Tuesday, plans that date to 1994. Britain and nine other countries warned the project could expose companies to legal consequences. The bidding window closes eight days before Israel's Oct. 27 election. ²

A Pennsylvania Jewish federation's dream campus became its debt. Harrisburg's federation bought a 6.4-acre "Jewish life" campus for $4.5 million in 2022; the mortgage has since climbed to $9 million, plus roughly $500,000 more owed, and the property is now for sale. JFNA's CEO called the plan "well-intentioned" but full of mistakes. ³

Yiddish is having a moment, in Italy of all places. A new Italian translation of I.J. Singer's 1930s dispatches from America, most never before rendered into English, just landed as "Viaggi in America," translated by Enrico Benella and originally commissioned by Forverts editor Abraham Cahan. It's part of a real boom: more than 50 Yiddish titles have come out in Italian since 2013, the year Singer's novel "The Family Carnovsky" sold over 120,000 copies there. Singer's own verdict on the country he was reporting on: "I have the diagnosis, but not the cure." ⁴

It's 10 Elul on the Hebrew calendar, three weeks out from Rosh Hashanah. Next Shabbat's parsha, Ki Tavo, opens with the bikkurim ceremony: farmers bringing their first fruits to Jerusalem and reciting a formula of thanks over the harvest. ⁵⁶